The Vigilante
by sheldonplankton92
Summary: Mr. Krabs hires a masked human scuba diver to gain the upper hand on Plankton, but it turns out this man is susceptible to other ideas.
1. Chapter 1: The Phone Call

_**This is a fanfiction where Mr. Krabs hires a masked vigilante to keep an eye on Plankton. A new character of mine "The Player" is based on a celebrity in real life. I won't tell who, you'll have to guess. I'll have more on this eventually, but as of February 28, 2020, I'm just posting these two chapters. I'll have more on it soon, I just need to think of a good conflict.**_

_**.**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**.**_

It was another peaceful day in Bikini Bottom, customers enjoying their delicious, nutritious Krabby Patties.

Eugene Krabs and his only trusted employee, SpongeBob SquarePants, were watching the front door and back door for any sign of Sheldon Plankton.

Krabs pondered for a while: "Hmmmm. I suppose Plankton should be striking right about now, but then again, after 1,000+ times of trying to steal the recipe, he should be planning something big, something totally unexpected."

SpongeBob realized, "Maybe Plankton doesn't want the formula anymore."

Mr. Krabs snapped back at his underling.

"You really are the most gullible sap under the sea, aren't you. I'll bet you think he'll just try to make a new recipe, well let's not forget the time I sent Squidward undercover to the Chum Bucket to make his chum fricasee."

SpongeBob was shocked.

"You-you mean to tell me that it was all planned, even down to Squidward making everybody sick from undercooked chum? But-but you were angry at his success; you were crying because the chum was that delicious."

"All part of me actin' chops, boyo. You wouldn't think Squidward would be THAT egotistical to let his own recipe not be cooked all the way through." Krabs responded.

"Another time was when Plankton was smitten with me mother. I told him that she knew the formuler too, which she did because I showed her how to make them. Plankton really had changed his ways then. Because we came up with the recipe ourselves, I lied and told him it runs in the Krabs family. After all, it should've been me father if that were the case. He was too stupid to realize THAT little tidbit. I just wanted to prove he was lying by re-triggering his obsession."

He finally realized he went off-topic.

"Anyway, what was I talking about?"

SpongeBob replied, "We were watching the entrances to see if Plankton would strike."

Squidward woke up from his regularly-scheduled nap.

"You mean (yawn) the front door and the back door?", he groggily mumbled.

Krabs reminded the two workers of the network of tunnels stretched all above and below the restaurant.

"Plankton's too smart for that! He's probably planted secret cameras all along the vents by now. Arr-arr-arr-arr! But I'm prepared too. I'm calling someone... special."

He got on his shell-phone and dialed a number that reached all the way to the surface world. The signal ran all the way to a big house, where a lone figure in a full dark blue scuba suit sat stroking a small box, which he then put in his pocket.

"Hello!"

Krabs replied, "Yes, hello. Is this the, uh, vigilante they call 'The Player'?"

"Yes, sir. What job do you want to me to pull off?"

"Well, Mr. P, my name is Eugene H. Krabs, I'm the owner and proprietor of the Krusty Krab, perhaps you've heard of it."

The Player responded, "Uh, no, but I have heard of your rival Sheldon Plankton."

"Well you see, Plankton always tries to get the upper-hand at trying to steal me secret Krabby Patty formuler but... I, uh, need him to have a little accident."

SpongeBob could hear the whole conversation from the office door. Murder was where he drew the line at giving into his charismatic boss's demands, like he was under a spell. SpongeBob didn't want Krabs to try to murder anybody anymore. But he kept his mouth shut, for fear of what his boss was capable of.

The Player resumed conversation, having been informed of the network of tunnels.

"Don't you have a lookout post, like a surveillance room or something?"

"NO!", Krabs shrieked before clearing his throat.

"I mean, no. Well it was deactivated a long time ago. Turns out my show 'Life in Bikini Bottom' had a ton of privacy lawsuits. Actually I get suspicious of anyone who's tried to steal me recipe. But enough stallin'. It's high-time I'm offerin' 10,000 clams for you."

"Deal. Speaking of clams, I'll get my security cameras." (hang up)

Krabs opened the door and greeted SpongeBob.

"So how'd it go, boss-man?"

The crustacean chuckled. "This time I've got the upper-hand. He won't be able to resist a job like this after I feed him one of me Patties (trademarked by the Krusty Korporation)."

About 30 minutes later, a strange sound was heard, like a rhythmic contraption.

The manager and his employees rushed outside to where a giant, blurry silhouette slowly formed, the sponge slowly backing away.

"It's-it's THE CYCLOPS!", he screamed.

Krabs pushed him back.

"No, boyo. That is the answer to me problems... forever."

The Player had arrived.


	2. Chapter 2: Plankton's Defeat

_**Chapter 2**_

.

Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob had just met the masked diver known as "The Player", who had just been informed of Plankton's laboratory and inventions.

He pressed a button on his suit to shrink himself down to whatever size he wanted.

"Go on, Mr. Krabs." he politely demanded.

The crustacean continued.

"You see, Mr P, Plankton's probably keeping a close eye on me restaurant and me network of tunnels with his various surveillance equipment. Is there any way you can deactivate them so I can give me formuler a more secure hiding place?"

The man responded, "I'll do it. I've been very well acquainted with Mr. Plankton's manner of thinking. As you know, he has many secret fears, including-"

SpongeBob stopped him.

"No! Please don't tempt Mr. Krabs into that, again!"

The Player continued, "I was just going to say cringy music and dead memes. I've spent 50 years trying to get 'with it'. I even have a Finstagram page (bad joke, obviously). So just sit back and leave the job to me and my diversion-in-a-box (trademarked)."

.

.

Meanwhile, at the Chum Bucket, Plankton was busy muttering and screaming like always.

"It's a conspiracy, I tell you! 1,500 times I've almost had that recipe, and 1,600 times I've ended up in the crap-house!"

Karen, his computer wife tried to console him.

"You know what, Plankton. I'm tired of you moping all day. Why don't you just order something off of a cookbook. Maybe turn it into a breakfast place."

Plankton laughed at her.

"You don't think I've tried? To tell you the truth, there are times when I want to take my mind off the formula, but he doesn't believe me, forcing our rivalry to resume again. It's like he wants me to fail, no matter what and he thinks I'm just a sociopathic, one-dimensional villain pulling off an elaborate ruse."

Karen was about to say something but suddenly her circuits began to go haywire.

Plankton looked around for someone who might have tampered with her, but all he could make out was the sound of a legion of scallops chirping.

That could only mean one thing.

Suddenly, The Player burst in, his arm-mounted soot-screen gun ready to fire.

"Freeze, Plankton!"

The amoeba stood as smug as ever, still eyeing the computer screen showing Krabs' no-longer-secret network.

"You don't scare me, good sir. I know all about your type, the masked man with a sense of self-righteousness. Just like Krabs, in a way."

The Player slowly took his diversion-in-a-box out of his pocket, and it suddenly burst open in a stream of confetti to reveal... a DJ system.

Plankton laughed at him.

"That! Th-that's your big weapon?"

The figure was busy selecting his song while his scallop henchmen worked together to barricade Plankton in.

"Okay, let's see. Baby Shark, Gucci Gang, wait a minute. No, no, no. That'll just keep him awake. Time for my personal touch."

He tapped on a key while the clams held Plankton down and inserted a listening device into both his ears.

All Plankton could make out was the sound of an epeleptic woodpecker tapping on a piece of silver, also known as modern-day rap.

Despite being up in years, The Player was as spry as ever. He knew how to make the young ones cringe. He donned a backwards baseball-cap with the name Lil' P on it, and the show began.

_"T-t-t-t-ttttt-t-t-t-t-yuh-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-Lil-Playa-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-dab-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-tttt-tt-t-t-clout-t-t-t-tt-tttt-tt-t-t-t-t-yuh-t-yuh-t-yuh-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-I-dab-king-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-dead-meme-t-t-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-Lil-Playa-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-gucci-in-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-my-room-t-t-t-t-ttttt-t-t..."_

By the twenty-third loop, Plankton was in a sound sleep, and the scallops had all his security cameras deactivated.

Now all that was left was to give Krabs his reward, and a proper place to seal the formula.


	3. Chapter 3: An Unexpected Discovery

_**Chapter 3**_

.

After thanking his latest client, the bounty hunter returned to the surface world to his big house.

SpongeBob heard a beeping in Mr. Krabs office, so he went inside and saw a giant television with scores of monitors.

"Come here, boyo! Thanks to these security clams, there's no way we can lose Plankton now."

After many many hours, there was still no response.

"Yarrrr.", Krabs sighed heavily. "SpongeBob, I think you're right. He doesn't want me formuler anymore."

He then quickly got up and realized it was 8:00.

"Then again, Plankton must've realized that his own hover-drone cameras were tampered with. Or perhaps he's created the real diversion somewhere off the Krusty Krab, so when we leave to find it out, he'll be free to steal the formula. He doesn't know about the scallops."

Krabs began to pace rhythmically across the floor.

"Or maybe he knows that by causing a diversion, he knows we'll head over to the Krusty Krab, which could in itself be a diversion of an even bigger plan in the long run. Maybe he's already stolen the formula and planted a fake. I don't exactly know how that would work, but oh-ho-ho-ho... he's incredibly deceitful."

The sponge told his boss to calm down and get some rest.

.

.

Back at the Chum Bucket, Plankton had just woken up from the deepest sleep he ever had.

"Wh-what happened last night?"

Karen reminded him that it was still the same day.

Plankton was surprised to find his wife fully charged again.

"Karen, what happened to you? All I remember is you turning off, a man in blue, a cringy trap number, and that's it."

He pondered for a moment and realized his security drone monitors were on the fritz.

"Krrrraaaaaabbbbbsssss!"

He angrily kicked the analog TV sets.

Karen assured him that the job was actually done. Yes, Plankton had already stolen the formula, and by that, he actually copied it. He invented the hover-drones as a diversion, and called attenion to it by planting the monitor in a place where he knew Krabs would spy on him. Plankton knew Krabs had recently been eyeing the complex network, because he figured the amoeba would go the scientific route for that extra thrill.

With that distraction, he was free to sneak right past Krabs, steal the recipe, use his duplicator ray, and make a perfect copy.

After 60 years, he was home-free.

"Hmmm. Now to figure out what I should do with ole' SpongeBoy."

.

.

A few days later, Krabs and Co. made it to the laboratory of a distinguished scientist named Dr. Walter Bass, a short, green, mustachioed fish.

He showed them a tour of his recent inventions: infared goggles, a bio-mechanical android maker, and an invisibility ray.

"Hmmm. An invisibility ray, you say?", Krabs wondered.

Dr. Bass answered the crustacean with a hearty "Yes, sir."

"But?", Krabs prepared for the catch.

The scientist replied, "But it'll cost you 5,000 dollars."

Krabs' mind was racing fast.

"Am I really going to dismember me greatest love to spy on somebody?"

A few seconds went by then Krabs perked up.

"Of COURSE I am!", the crustacean laughed.

He handed Dr. Bass the money, left with the invisibility ray, and returned to the Krusty Krab to call The Player back.

.

.

At his home in the surface world, the vigilante was asked if it was okay with him to make his security clam army invisible.

The Player responded, "Sure, Mr. Krabs. I've got plenty more at my house."

"Thank you, sir." (hang up)

Back at the Krusty Krab, he used a special scallop-whistle to call the swarm to him.

He zapped them with the ray, then sent them back into the air vents.

The monitors saw every detail of the vents, including a strange circular room Krabs had never seen before.

"I never knew we had that. But then again, neither would Plankton. It'll be the perfect place to stash me formuler. Arr ar ar ar ar ar!"

Krabs stared at the monitors for days, never sleeping, never eating, for fear that a certain single-celled organism was watching.

SpongeBob was concerned about his boss's well-being and he asked him to take a break.

The crustacean informed him that is was the sponge's job to make the patties and serve them, and he would be in there not bothering anyone.

SpongeBob went back to work on his cooking, and suddenly inspiration struck in a way he never thought before.

He remembered Krabs telling him not to mess with the patty's formula, but then he realized that the formula is in the meat itself, not any of the other ingredients. Those were just toppings.

So he went to the store, and bought crisp bacon, extra grease, eggs to fry, and finally dipping sauce.

After making the best patties of his life and yet another mental breakdown from Squidward, the clock ran 8:00 and he bolted out the door to tell his friends of his new idea.

.

.

SpongeBob burst into his pineapple house to greet his beloved snail, Gary.

"Gary! Gary! I just made the best Krabby Patty in the world! It has BACON... and dipping sauce. DIPPING SAUCE, Gary!"

The sponge waited for his pet to come slithering to him, but the snail was nowhere to be seen.

"Are... are you here, boy?", the worried sponge asked.

He went to check on Gary's litter-box. The hunks were right there, as usual, but showed a more sickly color.

Concerned with his snail's health, SpongeBob trembled nervously as he opened the door to his room.

The snail's skin turned a pale greenish-blue, and not the cartoon color.

With a condition like that, the sponge knew something was wrong.

He also saw many projectiles of sickly vomit mixed with snail blood, and quietly phoned the animal hospital.

SpongeBob was worried how Gary, a once-happy-go-lucky snail, could have suddenly contracted an ailment like this.

The purple doctor fish picked up the phone on the other end.

"Hello, Dr. Gil Gilliam. Bikini Bottom Pet Hospital."

The sponge informed him of his snail's situation, when suddenly he heard a loud thud as the snail lost consciousness and hit the floor.

He knew instantly what had happened. The poor sponge's own stomach began to turn as this day went from his best to worst.

An ambulance picked up the unconscious snail and drove him to the Pet Hospital, where treatment was done immediately.

The sponge was in the back-seat with his beloved pet, trying to get him to hold on. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him, but he was sure he could hear a familiar maniacal laugh echo in the air like the wind. This laugh was truly diabolical, like the cackle of a deranged killer.

.

.

The ambulance finally stopped at the hospital, and the snail was delivered to the treatment center.

After spending hours in the waiting room, SpongeBob was informed of the worst: Gary had passed away.

His eyes began to well up with tears, as he could not believe what he just heard.

"We still don't know what the cause is, so we just need to run a couple more tests."

While Gilliam left the forlorn owner, he planted a special camera inside the snail's system.

He could see everything.

But wait a minute.

He guided the drone to the snail's nervous system where two thin black and pinkish-red chemicals seemed to mix.

He knew instantly how the snail had died and went to the waiting room to deliver the cause.

"Mr. SquarePants.", he explained in his usual doctor voice, "I've completed my scan of your pet's system."

The sponge very timidly looked up. He was prepared to know the truth. He already knew Gary was dead. What more could bring him lower?

"Diagnosis:..."

SpongeBob closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, fighting back tears.

"...homicide!"


	4. Chapter 4: Accusations

_**Chapter 4**_

.

The funeral for Gary the snail was one SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends would never forget.

He couldn't believe his snail was killed by a virus, and worse, that somebody injected it into him.

After the funeral, the sponge told his boss about Gary's murder and the maniacal laugh he thought he heard.

Mr. Krabs replied, "Funny you mentioned that, boyo. I seem to recall hearing Plankton's laugh somewhere too. At about 8:05 P.M."

"Right... right after I rode in the ambulance.", SpongeBob stated.

An anger bubbled up inside the sponge's system. One he had never felt before.

The two of them headed over to the Chum Bucket to make Plankton pay.

.

.

At the Chum Bucket, Plankton was busy checking his new megaphone, when Krabs and SpongeBob burst in, angrier than ever.

"Krabs!", Plankton screamed.

"What are you doing here?"

SpongeBob was the one to answer him this time.

"I-I'm appalled at you, Plankton! I-I can't believe I was this naive! I always thought you had some shred of humanity in you, but this-"

He showed Plankton the death certificate of his snail, Gary.

"I always thought you'd pull some diversion to steal the formula. But THIS is the most INHUMANE thing you've ever done!"

Krabs interrupted, "Before you even think of playing coy with me, I heard you laughing manically at 8:05 P.M. about a week ago."

Plankton shrugged.

"Oh that. I was just checking my new megaphone. I had no idea the sound would spread so much."

Krabs spoke up again, "Well maybe you duplicated yourself to poison him while you had an air-tight alibi."

Plankton was flabbergasted.

"Really, Krabs, really. I knew you'd accuse me of that type of thing the second you'd find out I had an alibi and a duplicator ray-(covering his mouth)"

Krabs and SpongeBob both gasped.

"Of course, you stole me formuler, duplicated it and someone else and hypnotized him to poison Gary so we'll focus on that while-"

Plankton was about to snap.

_**"NEPTUNE!**_ Why does _**EVERY THING**_ have to _**LEAD BACK TO ME?!**_ _**FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE I AM INNOCENT****!**_", he finally broke down sobbing.

Krabs remained as stoic and unbelieving as ever, while SpongeBob was actually convinced Plankton was telling the truth this time.

After consoling himself, Plankton took out his copy of the recipe and handed it to Krabs.

"There, you see! I don't even care about this stupid recipe anymore! I can just make my own! I know something inside me will tell me to steal it again, so right now let's just focus on the case at hand."

SpongeBob then realized something. The black chemical that was shown to him during Gary's internal autopsy was soot: chimney soot.

He then asked Plankton about the time The Player visited his restaurant and put him to sleep.

Plankton told them both that he woke up, and all his security cameras were deactivated.

SpongeBob figured that as soon as Plankton was suspected of killing Gary, him being the most wanted sandwich thief in all of Bikini Bottom, they would ask for the tapes to "prove" Plankton's alibi.

So The Player must've set up a mission to pretend to thwart Plankton's plans to steal the recipe, but in reality, he was there to steal something of his. They couldn't figure out what though.

Krabs hurried across the street, dialed his shell-phone, and set up a plan along with Plankton.


	5. Chapter 5: A Strange Twist

_**Chapter 5**_

.

Mr. Krabs picked up the shell-phone and began to dial.

"All right, we do not want to mess this up! Everyone remember what to do?"

SpongeBob pretended to have Plankton restrained as he held onto the copy of the formula.

"You all remember your lines?"

They replied yes.

"Now for the moment of truth.", the crustacean affirmed as he cautiously dialed the phone.

At his home in the surface world, the bounty hunter recieved another call.

"Hello!"

Krabs responded, "Hello, Mr. Bounty Hunter, sir. It's a dire emergency!"

"Plankton knew we were working together, so he duplicated and stole me formuler, while I was busy searching the air vents!"

The Player replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Krabs. I'll be down there right away!" (hang up)

When the man returned to Bikini Bottom, he was met with glaring eyes.

"What's all this, then?"

SpongeBob showed him the death certificate of Gary, as well as his autopsy.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. Don't you have a suit that can shrink to whatever size you want?"

The man hesitated, "Uh, yes. I... I do."

While their conversation took place, Plankton hurried over to the Chum Bucket and pulled out a disabling ray from a secret stash.

"And look at this!", Mr. Krabs showed him the chemicals inside the snail.

"This just happens to be chim-i-nery soot, just like the kind from that gun you're wearing."

He also pointed to the red chemical, about to ask him, but The Player set his gun to "bullet mode".

Just as he was about to fire, he was met with a debilitating shock.

Plankton had deactivated his shrink machine, soot gun, and diversion-in-a-box, so now it was just three-on-one.

While the man fought with Krabs and SpongeBob, Plankton discovered a nearby scallop whistle that was left behind in the Krusty Krab.

He also brought along one of the steering wheel tables.

Just as it seemed like The Player gained the upper hand on Krabs, Plankton blew the whistle and the army of invisible scallops rose to his command.

The amoeba enunciated on his whistle "Attack!", and the unseen shellfish threw themselves at the bounty hunter's back like a machine gun.

While he was busy trying to dodge his former army, SpongeBob and Krabs set up the table to The Player's front.

The bounty hunter was somersaulted, before landing on the ground flat on his back.

Stumbling blindly, The Player got back up, only to fall on the recipe bottle, puncturing his air supply.

Krabs moved forward to interrogate him about the other chemical they found, but the man didn't respond.

Suddenly, electric sparks rose out of the bounty hunter's suit, and part of it exploded revealing him to be a robot.

"A robot?!", SpongeBob and Krabs exclaimed.

"Not a robot, an android.", Plankton corrected. "But unfortunately, we have no idea who he belongs to since I am a lone scientist."

SpongeBob perked up.

"You may not know who's behind all this. But I think I know someone who can."

The three investigators hurried over to a familiar bubble-shaped home.

At the tree-dome, their good friend, the world-renowned Sandy Cheeks, examined the robotic dummy.

"Hmmm.", she exclaimed.

"Extensive wiring, microscopic metal particles, shrinking technology, constant knowledge of current trends."

"Who is it?", all three asked.

Sandy replied, "The man who invented this is none other than my good friend and colleague... Walter T. Bass!"


	6. Chapter 6: The Arrest

**Chapter 6**

.

SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, and Plankton were filling themselves in on the criminal plan.

They would've made it sooner, but the GPS kept screwing up.

"Darn tooten! This thing's always breaking down. It should say take a left here, but we just ran to it last week."

Plankton shouted, "Forget the GPS! Take the familiar route!"

The boat turned the other way while the group called 911.

"Hello, police! I'd like to report a theft of security cameras, and animal murder. It's only one guy, and we're closing in on him."

Officer Bruce (from Nasty Patty) responded, "Backup is on the way. Should I send in a SWAT team?"

SpongeBob responded, "Do it!".

"Don't worry. Where are you?"

Krabs was reluctant to tell him because of the malfunctioning GPS, so he took out a map.

"He's at Ernest Scarfish Blvd last we went there. Neptune rest his soul. It's the laboratory that looks like a giant scuba mask!"

"We'll be down there right away!", Officer Bruce responded.

(hang up)

.

.

After a few more minutes of driving, they made it to the laboratory of Walter Bass.

Dr. Bass was busy perfecting his infared goggles when the foursome burst in.

"Well, Mr. SquarePants. Mr. Krabs. Come to check on more of my-my recent w-work?", he stammered.

Sandy stopped him right there.

"We know what you did and pieced it all together. Thanks to your background in chemicals and bio-mechanics."

(Flashback sounds)

"It was a cinch for you to build an android that looked human. You probably didn't even give him a house, because we knew he was supposed to be this mysterious bounty hunter."

"You also mentioned that you have a scientific background, and your ability to make people look the other way. You even did some research on Plankton to find out his mannerisms."

_"I've been very well acquainted with Mr. Plankton's manner of thinking."_

Plankton then intervened.

"Then while I was passed out, your robot must've snuck in and swiped my security tapes. You knew you could construct a scenario based on the secret recipe, so when the time came for you to swipe the tapes, no one would get suspicious."

(Flashback stops)

SpongeBob waited to say what he wanted to all day.

"And finally. (sniff) You murdered my beloved pet snail Gary!"

Dr. Bass snickered for a minute before letting out a guffaw.

"Wh-wh-why would I take the time to poison a pathetic snail? What could I have to gain from all this?"

Sandy took out the paper SpongeBob had been holding. It was the autopsy papers.

"You tell me! This chemical they found in the poor snail's system is a compound of a synthetic toxin and chimney soot."

Krabs spoke up too, just as police sirens were heard outside.

"You made one more fatal mistake."

(Flashback sounds)

"One of your security clams showed a pinkish, circular room, just like the one on the autopsy paper. I thought it was me old surveillance room, but it was much too blurry."

"You forgot to change frequencies!"

(Flashback ends)

Plankton then added something.

"Also, if it was a diversion to steal something of mine, there would've been something missing. I looked around for anything I could find but everything was there."

"Then it hit me! My duplicator ray! You must've stolen something of mine, made a copy of it, and put the original back to where it was."

Dr. Bass was stumped at this point.

"The original of what? Also, why would I poison a snail if I'm such a criminal genius?"

Krabs responded, "So everyone would too busy on that while we'd forget about the real case."

Bass replied, "What real case?"

"Well the police will be glad to search your place for you."

(Police sirens and SWAT team sounds)

"Oh... and here they come for you right now."

The SWAT team burst in and restrained Dr. Bass, who fought back hard, while the detectives raided his lab for the incriminating evidence.

They found Plankton's duplicator ray, obviously used on itself to cover up the theft, and a large ball containing a deadly chemical known as C.O.V.D.

"Everyone...", Officer Bruce responded.

"...this man is an eco-terrorist! _**TAKE**_ him away!"

The men roughed up the evil scientist and put him in the police car.

All was right with the world...

...or was it?

An evil smirk slowly formed over a formerly-unassuming face.


	7. Chapter 7: Escape

Chapter 7

.

The Bikini Bottom News Team and police helicopters surrounded the laboratory of Walter Bass, who had just been taken into custody.

Perch Perkins delivered the report of the year.

"This just in, Bikini Bottom scientist Dr. Walter Bass was arrested today, following a conspiracy to commit mass murder via an airborne virus. Dr. Bass was found guilty having just confessed, and was taken to a maximum security cell. The virus has not been quarantined yet, but we can assure you, it could blow at any given time.."

Elaine, the realistic male fish-head news anchor, delievered the final message.

"You heard it here, first. The C.O.V.D. is poised to leak through at any minute. This terrorist may have been captured, but his mission was complete. What will become of our fair city, only time will tell."

Everyone was in a state of mass hysteria for weeks on end following the report.

At the Barg'n' Mart, the stores were shelved with every kind of pill, medicine, and immune support in the country. All the citizens were told to hoard as many groceries as they could.

At the Krusty Krab, the hard-shelled manager remained as stoic as ever.

"Ah, you lemons! Afraid of a little virus? I'll have you know back in the navy, I contracted scallop fever for 2 months serving on the S.S. Diarrhea. And no, it wasn't from sneaking four spoonfuls' taste of me batter!"

SpongeBob still couldn't believe what happened to Gary.

"What's wrong, me boy? Still upset over your little sneigel?"

The sponge replied, "Yeah. But I couldn't help but wonder why _MY_ snail was the one who was targeted."

Krabs tried to console him.

"Don't blame yourself, lad. We're all poised to leave this earth sometime."

Squidward tried desparately to break the tension.

"Um, excuse me. It's great that you captured some nobody scientist, but shouldn't you be looking out for oh... I don't know... PLANKTON?! Not that I personally care."

Krabs gasped.

"You're right! Imagine what he could be doing with that recipe. He... he could be... _**READING**_ it! In fact, I believe that little microbe was in on the conspiracy, knowing that we'll be too scared to interfere."

SpongeBob responded, "Well if we don't want to get infected, shouldn't we wear protective equipment?"

Krabs's brain lit up.

"You're right! Follow me!"

He led his employees to a room where three HAZMAT suits, just their shape and size were stored in a hidden room behind Krabs' office chair.

Squidward looked skeptical.

"And you just happened to have those with you... the whole time?"

"I mainly use them before checking the grease traps.", Krabs replied.

"Now let's go steal back that recipe!"

.

.

At the Chum Bucket, Plankton had already donned a HAZMAT suit of his own.

"Well, Karen. Now that I'm free to resume my business, I might as well take a look at that recipe!"

He opened his copy of the recipe and began reading.

"Let's see... The recipe for one Krabby Patty is..."

He stopped himself.

"Wait a minute. This is too easy, like I'm in some sort of dream."

He slapped himself many times and discovered he was awake.

"Well, I guess I should just unravel it very slowly and call the universe's bluff on this."

"Sooooo farrrrr sooooo..."

*poof*

The amoeba stood there with his one eye shrunken in.

"Well I guess I can make it again with my trusty-"

*poof* There went the duplicator ray.

He was about to scream his usual "_**NOOOOOOO!**_", but his rationalizing side took over and realized he could just make a new recipe.

So saying, Plankton hurried over to Karen's bigger screen and went on the Internet.

"Let's see. How... to... make..."

Just then, a news break started on one of his searches.

It was at the Bikini Bottom Penitentiary. Searchlights were flooding the walls, a K9 unit sniffed out any remains of an escaped prisoner, and armed guards patrolled the area.

The amoeba was sure he knew who escaped, but he moved the cursor and clicked on a later part to make sure.

"...eco-terrorist Walter Bass has made a sudden escape from the Bikini Bottom Penitentiary today. Police and forensic investigators are baffled on the prisoner's method and whereabouts."

Officers Bruce and Nancy were then interviewed.

"Well Perch, we've ransacked Dr. Bass's laboratory and found the source of the virus. It was in a giant sphere labeled COVD. Among the other inventions were a duplicator ray, a scallop tank, and a bio-mechanical android maker which was also revealed to have been the birth-place of 'The Player', the infamous vigilante. We'd have been there sooner if our GPS hadn't screwed up."

Suddenly, Krabs and SpongeBob burst in with their usual Krabs vs. Plankton/get the formula chase.

"Aha! Thought you could pull a fast on me, Plankton? Help us out only to go back to your thieving ways?"

Plankton stopped him and rewound the video.

The forensic team was seen searching the prison and found nothing.

Never was there any shovels, spoons, drills, missing concrete, or even patted down dirt.

"It's like he disappeared into thin air.", SpongeBob exclaimed.

The amoeba paused for a minute.

"Thin... air. Just like the formula. Maybe... maybe that wasn't the real Walter Bass."

Krabs thought for a moment.

"Wait a second, Plankton! What does your duplicator ray actually do?"

"Um, it can duplicate things. Oh, the way it works is you actually scan the item so it can be saved and duplicated in another place. You can actually select where, too. But the downside, big surprise, is that the duplicate disappears after about a month or two."

Mr. Krabs thought he heard something when he stood by the Chum Bucket's lab door.

"Play that back, please!"

The amoeba panned the cursor to the left.

(click)

"We'd have been there sooner if our GPS hadn't screwed up."

Krabs spoke up again.

"Do you remember when we went to Dr. Bass's laboratory? It showed the lab on the left on the GPS, but there was nothing there."

"Plankton, can your duplicator get rid of the original material?"

He responded, "No, it can't. It just scans it. You think somebody buried it?"

"More like somebody, somebody, and somebody again!", Krabs replied.

SpongeBob had a defiant look on his face.

"Let's roll.", he quietly said.

.

.

Soon after, the daring threesome drove once again to the Bass laboratory.

"All right. Catch us up to speed.", SpongeBob demanded.

"Well, about a month ago, it was our usual shenanigans. Plankton and I about to fight over me recipe, having just recieved some new security drones. Then I went and called The Player on me shell-phone."

"Then he burst into the Chum Bucket, put me to sleep, and deactivated my cameras so he could steal my duplicator ray. He also copied it so I wouldn't notice it was missing. We found out he was up to something, so we lured him down here.", Plankton added.

Krabs spoke again.

"We fought him off then realized he was a robot. Then we found out Bass invented him, and we found his lab with all the devices he used to build his machine and poison your sniegel, as in all the _**DUPLICATED**_ devices."

"And just now we heard on the news of his disappearance, as well as the real lab if I'm not mistaken.", he finished.

The GPS stopped at the place where Bass's laboratory was shown to be.

"This is it. Get out of the car!"

The boat rolled to a stop and our investigators got out to examine any signs of a theft.

SpongeBob asked, "You don't suppose someone could've buried it?"

"That idea seems plausible, but does it hold up?", Krabs responded.

The sponge put his ear-hole to the ground.

"Listen. I hear a lot of machinery sounds. This must be it!"

Krabs perked up and his commanding side took over.

"C'mon. What are you waiting for? Dig! Dig!"

He got the shovels and drills he had been saving for this exact moment, ordering everyone to move as fast as they could.

"C'mon, boys! Dig! Dig! Dig dig dig dig dig dig!", he ordered for a good four hours.

***CLANK***

SpongeBob called up to him, "I think we found a door."

"Well is there any way you can dig a diagonal tunnel up to me so we can get back up?"

.

.

After thirty minutes of alternating their shovels and following each other thanks to Plankton's electronic compass, they managed to meet at the halfway point.

Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob then returned to the underground laboratory where Plankton was waiting.

They could see that the door was jimmied open. Somebody had broke in.

As they entered the lab, the investigators scanned the place for any suspicious activity.

They saw many inventions, including infared goggles, an invisibility ray, a microscope, and various beakers and chemicals, but strangely enough no virus chamber.

The trio then pulled up the computer thanks to Plankton's password abilities, and it happened to open up to a blueprint for a bio-mechincal scuba diver, as well as instructions for chemical weapons and information on mental stimuli.

A search was then held for the missing duplicator ray. It was found in a nearby trash bin.

"Guess our boy must've forgot to get rid of everything.", Krabs cackled to lighten the mood.

SpongeBob could then make out a horrific smell, worse than his peanut-onion sundae.

"Barnacles, what is that stench?"

Plankton replied, "I think it's coming from behind this door."

The team slowly made their way to the broom closet, then opened the door expecting something.

And they did.

It was Walter Bass on the floor with a dry, bleeding head wound.

He was dead.


	8. Chapter 8: Pandemonium

_**Chapter 8**_

.

A few hours later, the police found out what happened, drove to the site, and rented construction equipment.

They pulled it from the ground, set up a crime scene unit, and took Walter Bass's body to the coroner.

Finally, SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs went to tell Sandy the unfortunate news.

"Oh my Neptune." Sandy cried, as she tried to fight back tears. "I... I can't believe it."

SpongeBob tried to comfort her, reminding himself of his own loss.

"I lost a best friend of mine, too. Is there anything we can do?"

"Yes.", Sandy sobbed. "Leave me alone so I can collect myself."

The two left her alone and went back to the Krusty Krab.

They had to tell themselves to not focus so much on the case while they were working.

It was a busy day like every other day.

Customers put on their virus masks, hiding themselves from the fumes, which they were told were circling around in their food.

They were in a constant state of hysteria, even bringing with them their pills from the Barg'n' Mart pharmacy.

Squidward was in a constant state of denial.

He didn't feel the least bit sick, and for that matter, neither did everyone else.

Krabs figured it was because every one of them took their pills, and very quickly, he began to form a plan to infringe on the product's ingredients and make more money.

But then again, he figured he could go to prison for it, so he just decided to cash in on the panic by creating new patties shaped like pills.

SpongeBob was busy working the grill when Squidward called from behind the counter.

"I need four pill patties, please."

The sponge made a special patty, which in reality was one of his old Krusty Dogs.

The customers gobbled them up in a frenzy, thinking they were pills.

Krabs even charged 150 dollars for each "pill patty", but the customers didn't care.

The feeding frenzy went on non-stop, hour after hour, on the hour, the price going up and up.

Before they knew it, the clock rang 8:00.

All the customers left, taking their pills and 100 leftover pill patties to-go.

Krabs wasn't even paranoid about to-go orders anymore, he was so thrilled with his new scheme.

.

.

Back at his office, the crab rounded up all the money on his calculator.

"Okay, let's see now. 150 x 20 = 3,000 dollars. Repeats per customer: 1 for 175 = 175 x 20 = 3,500. New customers for price of 200: 20 + 25 = 45. 45 x 200 = 90,000. Price raised to 250 for 40 repeat customers = 10,000."

"Now let's add up all that moolah. 3,000 + 3,500 = 6,500 + 90,000 = 96,500 + 10,000 = 106,500. And that's just for the first hour!"

After adding his money all the way up, Krabs made a total of at least 5 million dollars.

The crustacean held onto his chest, as he was having severe pains.

SpongeBob heard the commotion from his post, concerned about the strange noises.

He burst into his boss's office and asked, "Is everything all right? Are you coming down?"

"No, boy!", the money-grubber happily exclaimed. "This is the happiest I've ever been! Arrrrrr ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar!", he guffawed.

"Thanks to this new epidemic, the customers are so delusional that me patties are curing their disease, that they'll keep coming back every day. In a few weeks, I can retire."

SpongeBob strangely congratulated him. "Well glad to know you're not sick."

He suddenly stopped, frozen in his tracks.

"Now what's wrong with you, boy? You're the one getting it?"

The sponge told his boss to quiet down.

"Listen."

"What?", Krabs replied. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly", said the sponge.

"No one's making a sound."

Krabs told the sponge to use common sense.

"Well that's because we're the only ones here."

"I mean, when we were serving our patties to the customers, I didn't get infected, even by the fish who didn't have masks."

Again, the crab's logic came forth.

"You see, they're not coughing or hacking up body parts because they believe they're sick, boy. It's all just a ruse. They think these patties will save their lives, so they'll keep coming back for more."

SpongeBob began to form a new theory about the epidemic, this one however was the real deal.

The two called Sandy Cheeks, who had just returned home from Walter's funeral.

"Hello."

"Ms. Cheeks", replied Krabs, "We finally know the reason behind this new virus."

Sandy tried to make sense of this. Just two days before, they had been wrong.

"No, Sandy, you have to believe us. Meet us at the Barg'n' Mart Sunday morning 10:00!"

(hang up)

.

.

SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, and Sandy met at the Barg'n' Mart to look for clues to the virus cash-in.

"There's only one place where somebody would make money from a new illness and pretend to have a cure. Follow me!"

The trio stopped at the local pharmacy where a shipment of various bottles were lining up the counters.

They ordered each brand of every medication, and went back to Sandy's tree-dome.

At the treehouse laboratory, they carefully searched through each brand, trying to find a gimmick.

Finally, Sandy was on to something.

"Check the copyright dates."

SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs did as they were told.

By sheer coincidence, each of the stationery dates were labeled "Copyright 2020, Bikini Bottom Pharmacy."

They also searched every ingredient list and found out they all contained a large dose of hidden glutamine and other excitatory chemicals, also the exact same numbers on the nutrition facts too.

"The same person's been marketing these under different names and selling them, taking advantage of the hysteria, that they caused as well. It was timed perfectly.", Sandy realized.

Our friends headed back to the Barg'n' Mart to ask the pharmacy employees who exactly delivered the phony medication.

"I don't really know.", said the cashier. "When we went to pick it up, there was no one there. We would've reported it, but we just had to cash in on this. Oh, one employee told me this funny story", he went off-topic. "He went to pick it all up, but he kept dropping it because he kept covering his ears. Apparently a herd of scallops were migrating for the winter. Strange, though. They were far away, but they made this loud noise like they were right next to me."

SpongeBob picked up Gary's autopsy paper that he kept as a memento.

"Stop joking. This virus is serious. It killed my pet snail."

The cashier looked at the picture of the snail's system.

"Where's the rest of it?"

"The rest of what?", SpongeBob asked.

"The autopsy photos. Usually they show the _OUTSIDE_ too, like the body for any signs of trauma."

Only one photo.

SpongeBob realized he hadn't been given the full autopsy report.

Also, the invisible scallops.

Whoever planted the scallop camera in there, the true Player, was also responsible for stealing the evidence as to how it got there.

He and Sandy also realized that even though a scallop tank was confiscated during the raid of the fake laboratory, there was no holding place for any type of animal in the real one.

Prescription medicine, a stolen autopsy paper, and nurturing of animals.

It could only be one place.

Then it came back to him, SpongeBob remembered the call he got when he first discovered Gary's condition.

Dr. Gilliam responded, "Hello, Bikini Bottom Pet Hospital."

Why would he phrase it like that instead of saying "Hospital"?

The only explanation to this is that he knew that a pet was sick, and whose house had a pet.

Armed with the truth, the investigators drove to the hospital to confront the corrupt physician.


	9. Chapter 9: Final Battle

**Chapter 9**

.

After SpongeBob's shift at the Krusty Krab, he called as many of his friends as he could find.

"Hello. Yes, this is an emergency. We know the real reason behind the new virus. Meet us at the Bikini Bottom Hospital."

(hang up)

Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, and even Plankton again, met with SpongeBob and drove to the hospital each wearing a custom-made HAZMAT suit.

Squidward, however, remained as apathetic as ever, actually hoping for the virus to claim him so everyone at his funeral would say that he was a "wonderful member of society" as all mourners are paid to say at funerals to cover up deplorable activity.

As they drove, Patrick and Mrs. Puff asked to be informed of the whole situation.

Krabs said, "Sure, but our experience is copyrighted", pointing to his head, "so I'll have to charge you."

SpongeBob explained instead.

"Dr. Gil Gilliam is the one behind this. He killed a scientist by the name of Walter Bass, stole his design for a human android, and turned it on Plankton. He knew that by deactivating his security cameras, we would all focus on the Krabby Patty recipe and think it was meant to be a plan to thwart him."

"The real reason he stole the cameras is that he would steal Plankton's duplicator, make a replica of it, as well as Bass's laboratory, and the virus and scallop tanks, and make it look like Bass did it."

Mrs. Puff asked him, "So how'd you find out it was the doctor?"

Sandy spoke this time.

"Well, about a month later, a frenzy had begun introducing new pills sent to us by the Barg'n' Mart Pharmacy. After we examined each brand, we found out it was the same content for every pill. That, and all the copyright dates were from this year."

Mr. Krabs' turn was next.

"Finally, SpongeBob noticed something was up when his little sniegel was sick. The doctor answered SpongeBob's call as Bikini Bottom Pet Hospital. Reminds me of when Squidward thought SpongeBob ate a pie that contained a bomb."

(Flashback to 2001)

_"Hello, doctor. Hospital. Won't do any good? Eleven times?"_

(Flashback ends)

"He masterminded that one, too?"

Krabs nodded yes.

"But why?"

"I guess we'll just ask him when we get there..."

The boat slowly stopped at the hospital.

"...which is right now!"

The team searched the hospital, even down to the basement, but no virus tanks or any other equipment was found.

"Fish-paste!", Krabs shouted. "It seems like we have the wrong place again."

SpongeBob remembered the outside of the hospital.

It had a building shape just to the left of the entrance, but no doors.

He told Plankton to take out his analyzing goggle.

"Hmmmm.", the amoeba hummed as he scanned the exterior of the place.

*beep beep beep beep*

"Yes!", he exclaimed.

"It's right below us, and not only that, but it appears to be activated by touching the letters on the "EMERGENCY" sign."

"Now what kind of password would a terrorist doctor use with the word "emergency"?

Plankton whispered it to Mrs. Puff, who then inflated until she was as big as the lifesaver door.

"Let's see", she rolled toward the respective letters.

"G... E... R... M... Y."

Just like that, the building opened like one big door-hinge, and the gang stepped inside.

.

.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gilliam was already in his lair, having just gotten off his shift, singing and dancing to Krabs' famous song "Money, How I Love Thee."

He went over to the giant virus ball, and talked to it, caressing it in a sensual manner.

"Soon, Bikini Bottom will never know what hit it...", he said, putting on a HAZMAT suit.

"...and the deed will be done!"

The elevator gave off a beeping noise, and Gilliam went to the security camera to see who arrived.

"What the barnacle?"

Yes, the gang had already dropped in to the base, and it was only a matter of time before his plans would be found out.

Just then, the door opened.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the yellow sponge. What can I do for you down here?"

Sandy stopped him.

"We know your whole plan, Gilliam."

"Really?", the doctor smugly asked. "Take a guess."

Sandy explained.

"You killed my friend Walter, duplicated him and his laboratory, used his plans to build yourself a human android, so you can frame him for the spread of the C.O.V.D. virus."

SpongeBob added, "Then you poisoned my snail, and planted that security camera and The Player's soot inside him, so we would find out it was Bass."

Krabs finished the exposition.

Then you made phony medication, taking advantage of the virus that, once again, you created, knowing full well we'd be in such a mass panic that our brains would just accept anything and you'd be a whole lot richer."

The doctor was impressed, except for the last bit as he let out a chuckle.

"You-you think this is all about money? If that was the case, I would have neutralized _this_ long ago."

Gilliam opened the door to the virus chamber, then took out a scallop whistle, and told everyone to stay still as he removed their suits and dropped a prison cage on them.

He then had his invisible scallops take the cage to a conveyor belt with a wall exactly its size, leading straight to a two-door mechanism like Sandy's tree-dome.

"I might as well tell you since you're all going to die. I plan to unleash the real virus in an unsuspecting time, as soon as everyone 'realizes' it was all a hoax and they go back to their normal lives. I'm just an undercover murderer. And no, I didn't have a traumatic experience as a child or become one of those people who humanity has given up on, I know how humanity actually works.", he proudly grinned.

Krabs was unimpressed.

"So blah, blah, blah. Everybody is after something and that's why people make friends and act all nice to get their way. Take it from an expert on the subject, Pops!"

The doctor then started up the conveyor belt.

"Diagnosis:", the doctor grinned again, "Homicide!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Don't think we don't watch any popular shows, you poser.", Krabs mocked.

Gilliam then rolled a desk with a familiar-looking laptop on it.

"And just to make sure nobody gets any bright ideas about escaping."

Plankton's eye was wide open.

"So this is why they call it trap music.", he thought.

The doctor then pressed a button on his laptop, and a familiar song shot through the speakers.

"...t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-yuh-t-t-t-t-tttttt-tt-t-t-dab-king-t-t-t-t-tttt-t-t-t-t-dead-meme-ttttt-t-t..."

"_**NOT 110 BEATS PER MINUTE!**_", Sandy screamed.

The team instantly fell into a deep sleep, as Gilliam stood proud.

The doctor didn't realize that Plankton was too small to be seen in the cage, for he was hidden outside the whole time.

He gained control over the song's repetitive drone, and sneaked away to grab the doctor's scallop whistle.

Plankton then disabled the song, and blew an air-horn causing everyone to wake up.

While Gilliam covered his ears because of the noise, Plankton then blew the whistle and the invisible clams stopped the machine.

Finally, Mrs. Puff inflated herself and broke the entire wall, letting everybody out.

"My-my whistle!", the doctor exclaimed.

But it was too late for him. The invisible army was on the good side.

"Attack!", Plankton's whistle sounded.

The clams headed towards the doctor, who grabbed some infared googles stolen from Bass.

"Now who has the upper hand?", he boasted.

He fought off as many scallops as he could, his hand slowly reaching for a lone button.

A gun loaded with ice cream appeared out of a trap-door in the wall.

"You think this is just ice cream?", the doctor said as he was pinned to the wall by the scallops.

"Well, this is loaded with the remnants of Triple Gooberberry Sunrise."

The gun shot out bags of alcohol-laced ice cream, forcing everyone to take cover.

In the midst of all the confusion, Krabs stumbled over and ripped a hole in Gilliam's HAZMAT suit.

He then motioned for SpongeBob to make his way toward the shots as the doctor broke free from his restraints, fighting fin and claw with Krabs.

The sponge absorbed every bit of Triple Gooberberry Sunrise and he became more intoxicated than ever.

Krabs tussle-guided the sadistic physician toward the inebriated SpongeBob, who then fell on him, trapping Gilliam's head in causing him to become drunk as well.

Plankton then tickled SpongeBob using his trusty "Mr. Feather (trademarked)", and Gilliam fell onto the conveyor belt through the hole, Mrs. Puff quickly blocking it.

The machine started up again, the first door opened, then the second, until finally the doctor was sealed inside the impenetrable virus sphere.

"Look away, y'all! Look away!", Sandy motioned.

Gilliam's already-stoned self began wheezing uncontrollably as the virus entered his nervous system, then his skin turned a sickly color as his body convulsed involuntarily.

A few minutes of covering their ears, and the pale doctor gave out one last rattle before losing consciousness completely.

In short, Dr. Gil Gilliam was dead. His reign of terror and puppetry was over.

The team turned around and noticed SpongeBob was also unconscious from his Triple Gooberberry Sunrise bender, and called Dr. Forrest (the doctor from All That Glitters).

After SpongeBob was rushed to the ICU, the rest of the gang looked around for a vaccine.

They eventually found one and put it on the machine as it made its way toward the chamber and Dr. Gilliam's body.

The vaccine was so powerful it turned the sphere a green minty color, and all was well once more.

Now all that was left was to wait for SpongeBob's sobriety.


	10. Chapter 10: A Grand Experience

_**Chapter 10**_

.

It had been one week.

The light-brown, overdosed form of SpongeBob lay on a extra-large sized bed, specifically made for absorbtion-locked sponges.

He was still unconscious from his fill of alcohol-laced ice cream, which in itself was loaded with chemicals.

His eyes were unable to open, like they were pressed down with weights.

All of his friends; Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, even Plankton, were concerned.

"Will he be his old self again?", Sandy asked the doctor.

Forrest replied, "Ms. Cheeks, it could take some time for your friend's health to improve. But we're doing everything we can. He took a lot of ice cream."

Mr. Krabs tried to convince the doctor that his longtime friend and mentor was a would-be mass murderer.

"I know. I still can't believe it."

The crustacean glared at him.

"That's just what I'd expect an accomplice of his to say!", he shouted.

"How do I know there isn't a ring of you, and he was just the diversion while the real threat is somewhere else?", he asked growing suspicious.

Squidward slapped him.

"Why does there always have to be an evil mastermind with you?"

"Because it takes one to know one, except for the evil part.", Krabs replied.

The squid began shouting, "Says the guy who made us work 24-hour-a-day shifts with no breaks for 43 days straight!"

Dr. Forrest motioned for everyone to get out if they were just going to argue.

He and a team of surgeons put a drainage hose inside him, ready to slowly empty out the ice cream.

"Remember team, this is serious. One wrong move and his natural sponge-fluid could burst."

.

.

At his anchor home, Krabs turned on his TV.

*static*

"...funeral of renowned physician and veterinarian Dr. Gilbert Gilliam was held today more than one week after he was exposed as a criminal mastermind. We would've shut it down, but all his friends and students at the medical clinic insisted he get a proper tribute. After all, we're all part of Neptune's creation."

A picture of a smiling Gilliam appeared with the words "12/13/1952-3/4/2020."

The crustacean wrote down a list of ideas to improve his own reputation.

He snapped out of his psychological monologue, then looked at a picture of his restaurant, and then one of his two employees.

Deep down, he hoped the sponge would be okay, and not just to make him more money.

He then went to visit Squidward.

The bluish-grey squid was busy mouth-syncing to his clarinet-records, when he heard a knock.

He opened the door and there stood Krabs.

"Come in, sir."

"Listen, uh, Squidward.", he asked. "Was there ever a time when you actually cared about SpongeBob? I mean, you did try to run over him many times with a bulldozer once."

The squid then told his boss about his personality.

"It seems like every time I apologize to him or make peace with him, I'm right back to my stubborn arrogant self the next day. Like a fog comes over me as soon as I fall asleep. I really hope today won't be one of those times."

Krabs reassured him.

"Well maybe you can go to your therapist and tell him about your problem."

Squidward held his head in his tentacle and quietly sobbed.

"If-if this is how it all ends for him, I know I'll never forgive myself. I mean I'm not the one who did this, but still."

"I know, Mr. Squidward. I hope he pulls through."

Krabs gave his employee a goodbye before going back to his house.

.

.

At the Bikini Bottom Hospital, SpongeBob's monitor began to beep slower and slower.

"Oh no.", Forrest exclaimed.

"What is it, doctor?", Nurse Retchid asked.

"We're losing him!"

He turned to the drainage team, who then tossed the 20th bucket of ice cream into the pile.

"I think we may have more ice cream than sponge-fluid, Dr. Forrest.", the head surgeon replied.

"Give it to me in English."

"I don't think he'll make it."

SpongeBob was slowly slipping away.

After a few hours of constant around-the-clock work, the ice-cream was just about drained, but his monitor beeped slower and slower.

From his point of view, the sponge felt something he never had before.

He thought he was dreaming, but at the same time, he knew where he was heading.

He had made it to Atlantis.

.

.

"Where am I?", the newly-made SpongeBob wondered.

Just then, a chariot of seahorses arrived to welcome their newest arrival.

The door opened and King Neptune stepped out.

Even though the sponge had seen him before, that was just his earthly form.

This Neptune was bathed in wonder beyond anyone's imagination.

"Ha-HA! Mr. SquarePants, I knew you'd come!", the god proclaimed.

"Welcome to my home of Atlantis!"

He opened the gate and the sponge was breathtaken by the wonder.

"Follow me, SpongeBob.", Neptune led him to a two-million-and-counting roomed mansion.

They entered and he could see rooms filled with everything the Atlantis-bound enjoyed down on earth that pleased themselves and the gods.

"Your room is right in here, Mr. SquarePants.", he then pointed to a swirling door just like all the other ones.

SpongeBob then entered his heavenly room.

It was everything he could ever hope for, not to mention a king-size Krusty Krab, with Krabby Patties beyond what anyone else could ever taste down here.

"One Krabby Patty, coming up Mr. Kra-"

He then remembered Mr. Krabs.

He wanted to cry, but he just couldn't.

Concerned about his friend's position with Neptune, he asked if there was any way his friends on earth would ever come.

The yellow boy then began having flashbacks, thanks to his new completely photographic memory, to twenty years prior.

He remembered Neptune being more arrogant, ignoring his friends.

"Ah, but SpongeBob. That was the Atlantis for the living. And as for your friends, unfortunately there isn't anything I can tell you about their coming here and also nothing you can do."

He continued, "But someday maybe, because there is a battle for everyone I am eternally fighting for. Enjoy your stay!"

The sponge made it to his Krusty Krab house, where a familiar sound greeted him.

"Gary? Is... is that... you?", he was on the verge of tears.

The happy snail came in and meowed with excitement, cheerfully licking SpongeBob's face.

"Oh, I knew I'd see you again someday.", he laughed, not his usual cartoon laugh, but this one with a sense of true joy.

He then turned on the TV to see if any new arrivals were heading there.

The weatherman announced a cyclone was heading to Atlantis that claims residents back to the "earthly realm".

Gary then ran away, knowing his owner was still clinging on.

"I know, I know Gary. I just got here. But it seems like a miracle has happened with my operation."

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Back at the Bikini Bottom Hospital, the ice cream and alcohol were completely drained, and the doctors tried everything to re-start his heart.

Just as they were about to put the cover on his head, they saw one of his fingers start to move.

"Hold it!", Dr. Forrest shouted.

"Keep on him! Don't let him go into the light! Come on! That's it!", he kept shouting as he instructed the team to keep moving.

Meanwhile, the sponge tried his best to run away from the cyclone.

But it was too late.

He called out to Neptune to save him, but the god reminded him that his time was still needed on Earth.

"You have so much more to live for, my son! One day, though... _**ONE**_ day you will be here again with your snail! Don't fight back! They're coming for you!"

"I... I understand.", the sponge replied through tears and let go of the gate bars.

Everything went dark and SpongeBob slowly woke up in his hospital bed.


	11. Chapter 11: Miraculous Recovery

_**Chapter 11**_

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The sponge felt like he was dreaming.

Everything was black, but at the same time he knew he was waking up.

He heard a voice through a blurry echo.

The sponge tried to make it out. It appeared to be calling his name.

_"SpongeBob?"_

Slowly but surely, in and out, he could feel himself reuniting with his body.

Tingle by tingle, movement by movement, like the time when you try to open your eyes in a lucid dream.

_"SpongeBob!"_

He recognized the voice this time; it was definitely Patrick_._

Another voice came into being.

_"You okay, buddy?"_

Sandy's voice was heard this time. They became more and more close.

His eyes slowly opened until he woke up in the hospital.

"He's awake!", an overjoyed Mr. Krabs exclaimed.

The sponge was finally met with open arms.

"Oh, SpongeBob, we were so worried.", Sandy and the others gave him a big hug as she cried tears of joy.

"How long was I out?", he asked.

Dr. Forrest replied, "About a week or so. We almost lost you."

"I know.", the sponge replied. "I saw Atlantis. I saw King Neptune welcoming me to a glorious room with the most delicious Krabby Patties in existence. I even saw Gary, who was more than happy to meet me. I know I'd want more than anything to be there again, but I have so much more to live for."

"It's glad to have you back, SpongeBob.", proclaimed Squidward as he quietly scheduled his next appointment with his therapist for his split personality.

Even Plankton said something.

"You know, SpongeBob, I'll for sure try to steal the formula next time. But hey, for your sake, I'll just wait 'til a week or two after you get back to work." He cautiously eyed the scallop whistle, hoping no one could see he still had it.

"Deal.", the sponge raised his finger toward the amoeba so he could shake it.

Dr. Forrest interrupted their sentiments.

"Okay, Mr. SquarePants, let's wheel you into the next room for your scan."

The sponge was placed into a wheelchair and driven to the CAT scan room.

After a few more days of appointments controlling his absorption and shape-shifting abilities, SpongeBob was sent on his way.

A team of reporters from the Bikini Bottom News arrived to award the brave sponge for risking his life to save others from the man-made virus.

"Perch Perkins, Bikini Bottom News. Mr. SquarePants, how does it feel to be recognized as a national hero?"

The sponge hesitated to answer, due to him still recovering from his hangover.

Krabs stepped up alongside him.

"Please, Perch. Don't bother the boy; he's had quite enough excitement. C'mon, let's get you home.", he held SpongeBob's back to support him.

Perch then went into another monologue.

"Well, you heard it here first. A miraculous recovery has just ended for this young sponge. We'll have more reports including interviews with Gilbert Gilliam's family and those who trusted his sociopathic ends right after this!"

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SpongeBob and his friends continued walking toward each of their respective homes.

When he stopped at Conch Street, the sponge kept walking, everyone else wondering.

His trail finally came to rest at Floaters Cemetery, where he stopped at the grave of his beloved snail.

Very quietly, he leaned toward the pile of dirt, and put one arm on the headstone.

"Gary... I... I know I can't hear you, but I know you can hear me."

He slowly whispered and his eyes filled with water.

"I've really missed you these past few weeks. I know I'll see you again one day, but for now... I'll try to make the best of my life down here."

The sponge then walked away toward his house, then looked up into the heavens.

"Take care, pal."

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_**To Be Continued?**_

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**_The characters and events depicted in this work are fictitious. Any similarities to actual persons and/or events, living or dead, is extremely coincidental. - originally written April 20, 2020_**


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